Mithun tied up for sacrifice
B&W photographic print. 'Ungma village is a pure Chongli village. The mithun (Bos frontalis) is a very important sacrificial animal among the Nagas. Normally it is allowed to roam free in the jungle, being fed salt occasionally by its owner. The sacrificial animal in the photograph is tied to a...
| Date(s) of creation: |
October 1922 |
|---|---|
| Level: |
Item |
| Format: | Archive |
| Main author: | Mills; James Philip (1890-1960); colonial administrator and anthropologist |
| URL: |
http://digital.soas.ac.uk/LOAA004585 |
| URL Description: |
Digital version available online at SOAS Digital Collections |
| Summary: |
B&W photographic print. 'Ungma village is a pure Chongli village. The mithun (Bos frontalis) is a very important sacrificial animal among the Nagas. Normally it is allowed to roam free in the jungle, being fed salt occasionally by its owner. The sacrificial animal in the photograph is tied to a post in the village by a collar made of creeper, the loop at the end being slipped round the post. Upon its neck is a basket containing a cock and decorated with two hornbill feathers. Tassels of bamboo fibre hang from its horns, The Mithun sacrifice is the culmination of the series of Feasts of Merit, the completion of which brings honour to a man, and an increase in the collective "aren" (a type of force) of the clan and the village. The sacrificer wins the right for himself and his family to wear certain cloths and ornaments and to decorate his house in a particular way. It is possible to deduce exactly what Feasts of Merit a person has given by looking at his house or his cloths and ornaments.' |
|---|---|
| Main author: | Mills; James Philip (1890-1960); colonial administrator and anthropologist |
| Extent: |
1 photograph |
| Note: |
Sacrifice Mithun Naga (South Asian people) Ethnic group: Naga Ethnic group: Ao Naga |
| Access status: |
Open |
| Copyright: | Copyright held by J.P. Mills |
| Language: | No linguistic content |
| Scripts: |
Unwritten |
| Physical description: |
9.5 x 7 cm |
| Copies: | Digital version available online at SOAS Digital Collections |
| Format: | Archive |